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Spotlight: vanity of vanities, all is vanity
Jodocus Müller, city apothecary of Dresden, was a prominent and presumably wealthy citizen of that town. In a certificate of 1675 he listed the six pursuits to which he had dedicated his life: To learn the ‘A. B. C.,’ to… Continue reading
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Potsdam for piety, potatoes, pleasure and parades
Frederick the Great (1712-1786) left his mark on Europe in many fields: war, music, politics, architecture, language, philosophy, and nutrition. His presence is most apparent at Potsdam in Germany, where he built the Sanssouci Palace and the Neues Palais. These… Continue reading
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Max Klinger at Dresden in 1911: Wellcome Library Item of the Month
1911 was a bumper year for exhibitions. In London there was the Festival of Empire and Imperial Exhibition at the Crystal Palace. In Turin there was the Esposizione Internazionale delle Industrie e del Lavoro. At the Hague in September there… Continue reading
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Professor A and Professor B discuss Darwinism in Berlin
The idea of man’s evolution from animals is an ancient one. Some statements on the subject by the Greek philosopher Anaximander (ca. 610–after 546 BC): “The first living creatures were born in moisture, enclosed in thorny casings, and as their… Continue reading
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Sterilization and murder of psychiatric patients 1934-1945
The Prinzhorn Collection in Heidelberg has opened a small exhibition of “Pictures of a forced sterilization” which were acquired in 2008. They are a series of pictures by Wilhelm Werner (1898-1940) who lived from 1919 in the asylum at Werneck… Continue reading